Measuring Performance In Public Administration

Latvian 4th International Public Management Summer Institute

Posted by Bill Dorotinsky

The Latvian Government held its 4th annual International Public Management Summer Institute from August 25-29, 2008, in Tukums, Latvia. The theme of this year's Institute was "Measuring Performance in Public Administration." The Institute was attended by Latvian Government staff from line ministries and central agencies, as well as staff from various agencies of seven regional governments (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Turkey, and Ukraine). The Institute was supported with financing and experts by the World Bank, OECD, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy of The Netherlands, Corporate & Management Consulting Group, The Soros Foundation, and Embassy of Ireland.

There were many lessons of experience and practical guidance arising from the seminar, too numerous to summarize here. The presentations and country cases are available below, and the readers can draw their own conclusions. The Institute program can be downloaded here Download Preliminary_program_2008.doc

Over-all, the Summer Institute was well planned and executed. The Institute was a good opportunity to get an overview of where participant countries are in terms of performance reforms. Some are only just beginning to wrestle with introducing performance measurement/management reforms (Bosnia), while new EU Member States are trying to make the performance reforms meaningful. The new member states are very much in the same position as most OECD countries, where performance measurement systems are in place and generating large amounts of data, but there is very little information of use in decision-making.

Presentations included

1. Religion of measurement – how and why do you measure progress? Bill Dorotinsky, World Bank Download performance_riga_2008.ppt
2. The power of good data - the Dutch experience. Helmer Vossers, Ministry of Finance
3. Linking performance management to policy planning – setting objectives. Ronnie Downes, Department of Finance, Ireland Download ronnie_rd_latvia_rev4_final.ppt
4. Distinguishing inputs, outputs, outcomes and impact. Uģis Šics, CPM Consulting Download Ugis2_Presentation_final.ppt
5. Formulating performance indicators to measure productivity, types of indicators. Heikki Joustie, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Finland  Download heikki_jousti_productivity_targets.ppt
6. Measuring progress and efficiency in public administration (Government at a glance). Oscar Huerta-Melchor, OECD Download oscar_latvia_si_2008.ppt
7. Monitoring, reporting and evaluation – usage and benefits of performance indicators. Egle Rimkute, Government Office, Lithuania Download Egle_onitoring_reporting_evaluation_PI_2.ppt
8. Beyond traditional performance indicators – Gross National Happiness, Ecological Footprint etc. Jānis Brizga,  WWF Download janis_brizga_beyond_gdp.ppt

Country cases included

1. Latvia. Baiba Pētersone, State Chancellery, Latvia Download performance_indicators_petersone.ppt
2. Finland. Heikki Joustie, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Finland  Download heikki_jousti_targeting__reporting_performance.ppt
3. Ireland. Ronnie Downes, Ministry of Finance, IrelandDownload ronnie_ireland_oecd_review_latvia_final.ppt
4. France. Phillipe Debrosse, Ministry of Finance, France Download Phillipe_Debrose_presentation_France.ppt
5. The United States. Bill Dorotinsky, World Bank Download us_performance_budgeting.ppt

All presentations will eventually be available on the Summer Institute web site link, above.